Dragonseers and Airships

by Chris Behrsin

  Sukina sank back into the pillow then turned her head to me. “Pontopa. We made it out alive…” Her voice was weak and hoarse.

  “Charth saved you,” I said.

  “Did he make it?”

  I shook my head. “I don’t know. But Francoiso… He didn’t.” I hadn’t had time to process what I felt about that. Somehow, I guess I had felt a connection to him after all, even though the marriage had been wrong.

  I could hear Sukina muttering in the collective unconscious, as if her subconscious and conscious thoughts were merging into one. Sukina looked at Taka.

  “Taka, come here.”

  The boy didn’t object that his name was actually Artua. Instead he shuffled over to his mother and took hold of her hand.

  “Mamo—” he said. “You were always in my dreams.”

  “As you were in mine, dear,” Sukina said. “Listen. You must take good care of Pontopa Wells. Both of you are going to make fine dragonseers one day.”

  “Why?” Artua said. “Where are you going?”

  “Nowhere,” Sukina said. “I’ll always be with you… In… your…”

  “Sukina, I—” I said. I could see she was fading. “No, Sukina, you must fight this.”

  But her gaze fell on me and she spoke ever so faintly. “It’s time, dragonseer. Tell Gerhaun…”

  And then, that was it. Once again, like I had with Francoiso, I felt a soul tear out of the collective unconscious. I reeled. I wanted to be sick. But I swallowed it down. “Sukina?” I said. But she didn’t reply.

  “Sukina,” I said again in the collective unconscious. “You can’t leave us.”

  There was not a trace of her anywhere. Whatever poison Alsie had given her, it had been effective. Dragonheats, I’d kill that woman. I’d hunt her down and tear out her life with my own hands.

  “Mamo,” Artua sobbed. “Mamo?”

  I walked over to the boy, took his hand. “Artua, I’m sorry.”

  “My name is Taka,” he said, and he stormed out the door.

  Papo walked up to me and pulled me into a hug. His right arm was working again, I could feel some strength there. “Darling,” he said. “I’m sorry. Whatever happened in there must have been terrible. I’m so sorry about everything.”

  I looked at my father. That argument we’d had so many weeks ago now seemed so irrelevant and I was just glad to feel loved. “Thank you Papo,” I said.

  “Just tell me one thing,” Papo said. “Was that the king’s nephew?”

  “Yes,” I said. I glanced over at Faso whose hands were now shaking as he bent over crying at Sukina’s feet. Sukina, I realized, had not even given him a glance on her deathbed.

  I guess she’d always been a dragonseer first, lover second. But sometime, I’d have to break the news to Faso that he was Artua’s – I mean Taka’s – father. But first I needed to check Taka was safe. I walked outside to check that the boy hadn’t ventured into the woods alone.

  Taka wasn’t outside the house, but fortunately, I knew where to find him. I walked across to the forest clearing where Velos had landed. Taka was crouched down besides his feet, singing a soft dragonsong that I’d never yet heard before. Velos crooned from the very base of his neck.

  That friendship would last, I realized. The boy now could be around real dragons.

  But then another thought dawned on me. Taka would need a mother, as well as a father. I’d have to help him look after the boy.

  And there would be no more new Sukina Sako novels to read. No more listening to her in the collective unconscious, teaching me the trials and tribulations of being a dragonseer. No more conversations about how sometimes Faso’s not all that bad.

  No, I would have to do this all without her. And not just that, I had a responsibility to teach to Taka what Sukina had taught me. Hopefully Gerhaun would be able to help me. I was sure there was so much about being a dragonseer that I still had to learn myself.

  One thing was for sure, we had to go south as soon as possible and get back to the fortress. No matter how much out of the way Doctor Forsolano’s lodge was, Alsie would track us down eventually.

  We had to leave, then we had to find a way to get my parents out of here, so everyone would be safe. Faso’s plan to pass through Sanjiornio under cover of night worked last time, so I had no doubt it would work again.

  But I just didn’t feel like moving.

  Papo and Mamo had followed me into the clearing. Mamo went over to whisper something quietly to Taka, but I had no idea what it was. Then she walked over to me, took me into her arms. I broke down and wept into her shoulder.

  “Why did she have to leave us?” I said. “Why now? And why does the king and Alsie and everyone in Slaro have to be so cruel?”

  “I know, dear,” she said patting my back. “I know.”

  I pulled myself back from my mother and looked at her with as much sincerity as I could muster through my blurry eyes. “Mamo. You know we’re not safe here. Not now… Things are going to get a lot worse.”

  “They’re after you?”

  “It’s not just the king,” I said. “Wellies, how can I explain? There’s a woman who can turn into a dragon, and she’s dangerous. You have to believe me, Mamo, I wouldn’t make any of this up.”

  “Don’t worry,” Mamo said. “I believe you. I heard some of the stories your blood mother told. Just remember, you’re not alone. Your Papo and I, we’re here for you.”

  “I know Mamo,” I said. “And thank you.”

  I once again buried myself into her shoulder and she embraced me with a warm and familiar hug. After a couple of minutes, she spoke again. “I know it’s never a good time to ask this, but you can’t be taking Sukina’s body south with you. Do you want to bury her, or…”

  Dragonheats, I hadn’t even thought about that. But if Forsolano said she was dead, there would be no bringing her back to life. “She must return to the Southlands, so she can rest close to Gerhaun and her father.”

  “So, you want us to…”

  “Can we cremate her? Is it possible?”

  “Doctor Forsolano does have the facilities here, yes.” Mamo said. “He sometimes needs to perform ceremonies for lost patients himself. But cremation takes time. You’ll need at least five or six hours.”

  I bit my lip. There was no way that Alsie or Cini would know where Doctor Forsolano lived. We’d be safe her for that amount of time and could leave late the next evening, to pass through the Southern Barrier at night.

  I nodded. “Then we’ll take her ashes south. I think that’s best… What she would have wanted.” Although I’d hate to be the one to explain to General Sako why we couldn’t bring her body home whole.

  “I’ll make the arrangements,” Mamo said. “Come on, both of you. There’s some dinner on the table and we all need to eat. It’s been a long day.”

  I’d never thought Sukina Sako, with her fame, would have such a modest funeral. But here, in the forest, only Taka was here from her family. And Faso, who I guess was kind of family too. He’d completely changed character and hadn’t said a word since Sukina had passed away. Ratter also hadn’t emerged once from his flared suit sleeve, almost as if doing so would be disrespectful to her.

  Taka had been pretty quiet too, but he’d started to draw closer to me. He held my hand as the pastor from the village read out a beautiful speech on the solidarity of man, and how much Sukina had achieved in her life. He’d asked us plenty of questions about Sukina before, of course, to achieve this.

  Sukina lay innocently on a wooden bier, everything, save for her face, covered in a virgin white shawl. Despite her eyelids and face being completely blanched of colour, she still had a look of power about her. Even in death she seemed regal.

  Doctor Forsolano had set up the firewood over an iron pit, though the doctor had assured us she’d later be moved to the furnace where we could retrieve the rest of our ashes. The pit had been filled with charcoal and soon enough, I had the job of throwing a match onto the Sukina
to set her aflame. Faso had not wanted to do it and I wouldn’t dare have given Taka this burden.

  Just before the fire came to life, Papo drew the shawl over Sukina’s face. Then, I said my final goodbye, reaching out in the collective unconscious, even though I knew she wasn’t there.

  “I will always be watching” the voice had come to the back of my head. Whether that was Sukina’s voice, or my imagination, I truly didn’t know.

  “And I,” this voice was now Francoiso’s. “Once in the collective unconscious, always in the collective unconscious. Death shall never do us part.”

  No, I was imagining it, surely. I pulled Taka close and let him weep against me as I raised a handkerchief to wipe a tear from my eye.

  We went inside and talked of our memories of Sukina. Taka wanted to hear as much as he could from us. But still, Faso said nothing. He didn’t yet know that the boy was his daughter, and I was trying to find the best moment to tell him. One thing was for sure, I didn’t want Taka around when I did.

  Everyone was pretty sleepy, so we took some time for a nap after cake and tea. I let Taka sleep in the same bed as me. He needed someone close right now for comfort. I slept lightly, waking up half thinking I heard Sukina as if she was lying beside me, and also from more rampant inappropriate dreams of my previous lust for Francoiso. It was still there nestled in my subconscious and I wondered if I’d ever recover from the effects the Exalmpora had had on me. I eventually roused at dawn, once the sun starting peeping through the curtains.

  Mamo and Papo were already up when I walked downstairs, and Faso was sitting in the living room, his eyes baggy as if he’d not slept a wink. An elaborate urn, painted with blue and gold dragons, stood on the coffee table before him.

  I took hold of the urn, checked it was secured tight and then placed it in my backpack. “Are you going to come south with us, Faso?”

  He looked up at me but still said nothing.

  “Oh, for wellies sake. We need to get you down there, you’re not safe here.”

  Faso shook his head. “I’m not coming.”

  “You bloody well are. If not for me, for Sukina. And Taka he needs you there.”

  “The boy? Why?”

  I took a deep breath. There never really would be a good moment to tell him. “Faso, there’s something you should know. Taka… He’s yours.”

  Faso raised his head. “My son?”

  “Yes. I’ll leave you to decide when to tell him.”

  “But Sukina… We could never…”

  “There’s more,” I said. “Taka was once your daughter. Cini and Alsie changed his sex. Through a drug called Exalmpora. Look, it’s complicated.”

  “That doesn’t sound very scientific,” Faso said with a frown.

  “Yes, well the drug was discovered by a man named Captain Colas. I believe you knew him, and I believe also he was a scientist.”

  “That man… I might have known he was involved in all this.”

  Faso continued to stare at the space on the coffee table a while and I stood with my hands on my hips, waiting for him to move. Eventually, he lifted himself like a wraith rising from a grave. “I’ll come,” he said.

  “Good. Now come on, let’s get some breakfast.”

  The good doctor had served out some bacon, eggs, sausages and toast on the table. We ate, Taka and Faso still remaining pretty silent. After that, we passed time until the sun set, eating a good hearty lunch and early dinner to fuel us for the journey ahead.

  My parents then escorted Taka, Faso and me into the clearing while Doctor Forsolano went into the village to get some supplies. I gave Mamo and Papo a hug, big tears in my eyes after everything that had happened and having to leave them here.

  “I’ll send someone back to get you,” I said. “I promise. You won’t be safe in Tow.”

  “Take all the time you need, dear,” Papo said. “And don’t worry, we can look after ourselves.”

  I nodded to him and then Faso, Taka and I climbed on top of Velos. We took off and flew towards the Southlands, a strong wind whipping against my hair.

  Part VIII

  Pontopa

  “To be a dragonseer is both the most challenging and the most natural of things.”

  Pontopa Wells

  30

  It seemed safe to travel at night. Cini would have sent word around the country by telegram to look out for a dragon flying in the sky, so troops everywhere would be looking out for us. I was also a little apprehensive that Alsie would find us. I doubted, to be honest, that Charth had made it after engaging Alsie in combat. And I also doubted that anyone else or anything other than Charth could defend us from her, not even Velos with his armour. And, if Cini got Taka back, then everything Sukina had died for would be rendered moot.

  So, the aim was to hit the Southern Barrier a couple of hours before dawn, so we’d be through before first light. We augmented using Sukina’s blend, so I saw everything in speckled green. We flew as low as we could to the forest canopy to make us less visible from a distance. It wasn’t long before we saw something rustling down there. It looked like a rabbit, although it moved with a little less fluency than a wild animal. But I was really too far up to see.

  “You’ve got to be kidding me,” Faso said from the back, peering down with his telescope. Something had clearly reactivated his energy, and I had a feeling it had something to do with his technology.

  “What is it?” I called back.

  “They stole Ratter!”

  “I thought you had Ratter with you?”

  “Not my Ratter. A copy… And now the thing is tracking us.”

  I snorted, trying to imagine Velos being a match for a mechanical ferret, armour and all. “I don’t think we’re in much danger up here.”

  “Well, we’re out of range. But if that automaton’s nearby, then someone, somewhere knows exactly where we are.”

  “Dragonheats,” I said. “Can you do something to stop it?”

  “If I could, it’s already too late.”

  “Dragonheats,” I muttered again. “Taka, hold on tight.”

  I pulled up on Velos’ steering fin to get him away from that thing. Plus, extra height would help us see ahead. If they knew our location it was only fair that we knew theirs too.

  “Is there anything I can do, Auntie Pontopa?” Taka said.

  “Just stay put for now. We’ll work something out.”

  Fortunately, we’d pretty much reached Sandstone Bluff, and we would soon fly over Sanjiornio, the same island we’d passed through on the way in. No one had sighted us there so my best assumption was it would be still deserted.

  As we left the cliff face behind, I turned around to see that ferret at the top of the precipice, although from here it was only a dot on the horizon.

  “We should have returned to the Five Hamlets to refuel,” Faso said.

  “What? Are you crazy? Do you know how many guards will be posted there?”

  “We could have found a way,” Faso said.

  I shook my head. “I don’t think we could have.”

  The floodlights of Sanjiornio soon came into view. As before, we followed them around in much the same fashion and got high enough that the shrapnel-flak scanners couldn’t sense us. We timed it well and ended up getting well away from the Southern Barrier just as the sun started to appear on the horizon.

  The place was stirringly silent. I could only hear the rush of the wind and the swishing of the sea below, which was bathed in the amber light of the rising sun. I scanned the terrain, trying to find at least a hint of danger, because it had to be close. I half imagined that Alsie would shoot out in front of us in dragon form and take us down out there and then.

  And in that moment of respite, I found myself instinctively reach out in the collective unconscious, despite there not being a strong source of it, to ask Sukina if she had any advice. But I only got emptiness in reply. I couldn’t feel what she was feeling anymore. I couldn’t lean on her emotionally for support. I now
had to face whatever lay ahead alone.

  It wasn’t long after that it started. First came the hum of propellers, then I spotted airships approaching from the east and west. Closing in on our location like lobster pincers. We could turn around now and let them chase us back inland, or we could carry on and confront whatever ambush Cini’s forces had prepared. It seemed wise to stay low. So, I pushed Velos down slowly, just in time to see boats on the water. As we flew further south, I sighted more of them. And my heart sank.

  An entire armada lay there in wait. King Cini’s admirals had gone all out. Steamships and frigates and cruisers and even Hummingbird carriers.

  “Dragonheats! Pontopa, we’re not going to fight them, are we?” Faso said.

  I gritted my teeth and plunged Velos into a dive so we could approach at speed. “What other choice do we have?”

  In the distance, the Hummingbirds rose up from the carriers in a golden cloud, which roiled towards us, like an approaching swarm of bees. Another cloud also rose from the frigates, this time black, leaving a dulling boom in its wake. Shrapnel-flak, creating an impenetrable wall above the line of boats. If we passed through, we’d be torn apart by shards of floating metal. And this time, Velos didn’t have enough secicao in his armour to take us over the cloud.

  But I had a more immediate problem to worry about. The Hummingbirds were now approaching, and we could hear the buzzing of their fast beating wings.

  “Damn it, Pontopa, retreat!” Faso shouted.

  I looked back at the airships now closing in on our location. They’d formed into a single line now. On board each, redguards had their rifles raised and pointed right at us. But Faso was right. We had a better chance against the airships than the Hummingbirds.

  I took my flask from my hip and took a swig of secicao oil. Alertness washed over me, and somehow, I also felt sick. It was as if I could feel Exalmpora in the liquid. And, all of a sudden, I wanted it. I wanted to become a dragonwoman. That previous lust for Francoiso washed over me. Then, I remembered he was dead.